No Turning Back
by C. Sanchez
Summary: Sarah calls out for Jareth and returns to the Labyrinth, only to discover that everything is not as it should be.
1. Chapter 1

Jareth stared down at the girl with mixed feelings of hatred and longing. He hated that their roles were now reversed; he might have no power over her, but she had all kinds of power over him. And she didn't even know it. He longed for her to call for him again, even as he knew that she never would.

Jareth, the Goblin King, feared by all in his kingdom, was forever trapped in his owl form. Unless she called for him. He'd seen her call for Hoggle, Sir Dinamus, and Ludo. But never did she call for him, or even think about him, as far as Jareth could tell. It drove him to the the brink of madness to spend everyday, all day, thinking of her, and knowing that she gave him no thought at all. It was the purest hell.

Sometimes he thought that his salvation would never come. Then other times, when he caught her looking off at far away places that only she knew about, a little smile playing on her beautiful lips, he began to believe and, despite himself, dream.

So, Jareth waited. Day in, and day out. Sun rise, to sun set.

Sarah Williams, who'd grown from the pretty 15-year-old in to a beautiful 24-year-old, watched the little children at the park play. She loved children; had hoped and dreamed of them. But, alas, since there was no man in her life, and most likely never would be, Sarah doubted that she would have any of her own.

So she often took Toby, her now 9-year-old step brother, to the park, giving her father and Karnen, her step mother, a break from the demands of the little boy.

Toby was so full of life. Everything he discovered everyday seemed to brighten his eyes and make him smile in wonder. Sarah loved watching him. She imagined that was how she was when she was little. Innocent to the ways of the world and amazed at everything that happened in her life.

Some of the life had dimmed in Sarah after her trip through the Labyrinth. Things seemed ordinary now. Just mundane and blah.

Sometimes, when Sarah couldn't sleep, she would step out onto her balcony and stare into the distance. She would image that she was back in the Labyrinth, the one place it seemed like dreams might come true. She would picture Hoggle, Sir Dinamus, and Ludo. She would sometimes even think of the odd little Goblins. But never would she let her mind wonder to their King. Sarah refused to think of him, even in her day dreams.

So, Sarah lived. Watching life go by and watching the children play.

Sarah, who'd been so wrapped up in her own day dreams and pondering, didn't notice that it was getting late till Toby appeared at her side, tugging on her sleeve. Toby was mute. The doctors couldn't seem to find a reason. Everything was fine, they said. Toby just couldn't (or, as one had guessed, wouldn't) talk.

Sarah stood, taking his little hand in hers. "Ready?" she asked.

Toby nodded, before leading Sarah to the side walk. Sarah always found this amusing. For whatever reason, Toby had made himself her protector. He looked both ways, up and down the empty street, before continuing down the path home.

When they reached the porch, Karen was waiting for them. "Thank you, Sarah." she said softly, before turning to Toby, "Tell Sarah goodbye, Toby. Dinners ready and getting cold."

Toby turned to Sarah, throwing his arms around her in his trademark goodbye. Smacking a sloppy kiss on her cheek, he bounced up the steps and vanished inside, no doubt heading to the kitchen to see what was cooking.

Sarah watched him go, a little part of her aching. Karen watched this with a knowing eye. "Sarah," she started, "you need to find you a good man, settle down, have a few children of your own."

Sarah nodded, thanking Karen and giving her a hug, before turning and walking the lonely path to her own little flat.

Maybe I should buy a dog, Sarah thought. But that seemed too much like giving up on her dream of children.

Sarah continued thinking about life's questions. She was so wrapped up in herself that she didn't notice how dark it had become, or how empty the little shops and streets were. She didn't see the snowy white owl that floated soundlessly above her head. Nor did she notice the dark shadow creeping out form the ally way in front of her.

Suddenly a hand closed over her mouth and a heavy arm wrapped around her waist, yanking her off her feet and into the dark ally.

Fear spiked through her, every muscle tense and ready to flee. Sarah started to shake her head back and forth, trying to dislodge the dirty, smelly hand over her mouth. If I can just cry out, she thought.

Then, Sarah was violently thrown to the ground, knocking the breath from her lungs. Before she could scream, the hand was back, cutting off her air and preventing her from yelling. A heavy weight, that of a man, closed in on her. He was tearing at her jeans, trying to undo them and pull them down at the same time.

Sarah managed to open her mouth under the hand and bit down, hard, on the fleshy part between the thumb and forefinger. The man swore and pulled back his hand.

"Jareth!" Sarah screamed in at the top of her lungs. Why that name, his name, she'll never know.

The man slapped her across the face. Hard enough to daze her and cause her head to slap against the hard conceit under her.

Then, just as quick as the attack had started, it was over. The man was gone.

Sarah, dazed and confuse, shook her head to try and clear her vision. She could just make out the shape of someone, a man, looming over her in the darkness. A hand came down and lightly traced her face. "No," she said weakly. "No more."

"No more, I promise." That voice. She hadn't heard it in so long. Yet it wasn't the same. It was lighter, kinder.

Sarah was lifted from the ground, held close to a lightly muscled chest. She sighed, knowing, somehow, that she was safe and could, for now, let down her guard.

Sarah let the darkness that was closing in around her take her. Trusting the man holding her to keep her safe.

Jareth stared down into the face of the girl that he'd loved more then life itself. She was a woman now, but her growing up had only made her more beautiful. Except for the slight purple bursing on her right cheek, she was a vision on innocence and loveliness. Seemingly untouched by the world around her, Sarah was the image of a queen.

Her chest rose and fell with each breath. And with each breath, Jareth had to drag his gaze away. Sarah had grown. Indeed, she had grown in all the places that made a mans' mouth water and his palms itch to touch, caress, and claim.

Jareth looked up at her face, excepting for her to still be sleeping. Instead, his blue and green mismatched eyes connected with her soft brown ones.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. And, if it was possible, Jareth felt his heart break a little more.

He hardened himself and sat down in the chair by the large king sized bed. "You called for me. Don't you remember?" he could see in her eyes that she didn't. "Such a pity."

Sarah sat up slowly, never taking her eyes from him, as if afraid he might jump her at any minute. She pulled her graze away and looked around her. The chamber was his; he'd had nowhere else to take her and refused to go to that tiny broom closest she called a home. Besides the extra large king size bed in the chamber, there was a seven foot tall armoire. On either side of the bed were to heavy oak night stands. That was the only furniture in the room, besides the chair Jareth had "created".

There were two doors leading out of the bed chamber. One lead to the hall way. The other the bathroom. Sarah was staring at both as if trying to decide which was which and if she could make it before Jareth caught her. She couldn't, Jareth knew. And she must have realized it herself, because she turned her eyes back to him and stared at him, waiting for an explanation.

"You truly don't remember, do you?" he asked her, looking intensely into her eyes. He genteelly probed her mind, and found that she couldn't remember anything after she dropped off Toby.

"Toby is fine; he's home with his family." Jareth replied, in answer to the worry in her mind.

"Then why am I here, in your castle?" Sarah asked quietly, still looking him died in the eye, unflinching.

"You were attacked," as he said this, he reached out with his gloved hand and lightly touched the bruising on her face. "And you called for me." This he said as he dropped his hand and formed a fist in his lap to keep from reaching for her again.

"But why..." Sarah let the sentence trail off, not knowing what she could say.

"Why, indeed." Jareth stated, standing and walking across the room to stand infront of one of the windows in the chamber. He stared out at his kingdom, not really seeing it, but not wanting to have to look at the confusion on Sarah's bruised face.

"Why did you bring me here? Why not take me home?" Sarah asked, pushing herself up from the bed. The covers fell to her waist, revealing a soft, flowing white night gown. "Did you undress me?!" she gasped out.

"You called for me, that gives me the right to take you where I chose." Jareth stated, turning for the window to stare at the vision upon his bed. "And yes, I did."

"Why?! You had no right!" Sarah yelled at him, not caring that he had saved her, just wanting to know why he'd thought it alright to remove her clothing.

One minute, Jareth was standing by the window, and in the next instant, he was leaning over her, pinning her to the bed without ever touching her. "You called for me, Sarah, that gave me the right." He stared deeply into her eyes, touching her nowhere, yet over powering her with his maleness. "And don't forget, I saved you. You life is mine now."

Sarah shivered from the intensity of that threat. But she hide it well, saying only, "My life belongs to no man."

Jareth leaned in closer, inhaling her sweet honey suckle scent. He raised one hand and lightly grazed the unbruised side of her face. "That is where your wrong, Sarah. You are mine now. You called for me. I saved you." His hand lowered to her throat, lightly circling it. "Don't forget that."

Jareth glazed into her frightened eyes a while longer, before pulling himself away and walking out the door on the right.

Sarah let out the breath she hadn't been aware she was holding and looked around.

What have I gotten myself into, was her last thought before exhaustion won out and she slipped back into her dreamless state, praying she'd wake up in her little bedroom.

Sarah opened her light brown eyes, still unfocused with sleep lingering in the warm depths. The room was ditch black. And silent. That couldn't be a good sign.

She sat up, pushing the heavy feather cover off her. She sat her feet on the floor, feeling the bitter bite of the cold wood against her tender skin.

Holding her hands in front of her, Sarah slowly creped forward. The only sound in the still room was the shuffle of her tiny feet and her shallow breathing. Her small hands bumped into the stone wall and she slowly worked her way to the window she'd seen Jareth standing at earlier. Feeling the velvet hanging, Sarah searched for the part and then pulled the curtain aside. Gentle moonlight flooded the room. Sarah glazed out the window and felt her breath catch at the sight before her.

Like some kind of painting, the beauty below was captured in all its splendor and bathed in pale blue moonlight. The stone walls of the Labyrinth were familiar, yet vastly different from what she remembered from 9 years ago. Instead of the master piece of twists and turns that had challenged her before, now it was a crumbling ruin, nothing near the glory it once was.

Emotion over came Sarah as she stared out at the devastation before her. Tears leaked from her soft brown eyes without her knowledge.

She felt, rather the heard, Jareth come up behind her. His glove-clad hands fell to rest on her shoulders. They pulled, lightly turning her to face him. He placed a hand beneath her chin and pulled her face up to his.

"To think, you cry for something you once fought against," he whispered quietly. His eyes stared deeply into hers; she couldn't look away from the mismatched blue and green that seemed to see all the way into her soul.

"I ... I'm not crying for that. I'm crying because I'm stuck here with you." Sarah was surprised that she could manage to get the lie out without choking.

"I see." Jareth replied calmly, not moving away from her or releasing her from his grip. "Do you know why my kingdom is in ruin, sweet Sarah?"

"No." Sarah wasn't sure why she was whispering or why she wasn't fighting Jareth's hold on her.

"Do you remember your words to me, 9 years ago, dear Sarah?" Jareth's hand slowly started to tighten on her chin.

Sarah realized then that this was another one of Jareth's games. She started shaking her head, trying to back away from him and break free of his hold.

Jareth smirked at her attempt to escape while he backed her against the stone wall. He quickly yanked both her arms over her head and pinned her to the wall by holding both her wrists in one hand. The other hand he wrapped around her throat; not tight enough to cut off her air, but tight enough to cause her to still within his grasp and look up at him with fear rimming her beautiful brown eyes.

"Do you know," Jareth started slowly, staring into her eyes as his mismatched ones filled with anger and hatred, "what gives the Underground so much power, and causes it to thrive throughout the centuries, Sarah?"

Sarah's only answer was to shake her head from side to side.

"When you believe in something, you give it power. You give it energy; energy to become real." He eased in closer to her, giving her the forced intimacy of taking in the air he exhaled. "When you take that power back, your believe no longer holds the power of life; it no longer has "power over you"." The last was said in such a soft whisper that Sarah almost thought that she'd imagined it.

But the anger in Jareth's eyes was the certainty that cleared her mind.

"Is that why I'm here, because your Labyrinth is dying?" she managed to get out without her voice shaking and getting away more of her fear.

"No."

After that one word Jareth released Sarah, stepping away from her and moving to the door. Without another word, he was out the door.

The last sound Sarah heard before collapsing on to the floor in a heap of tears was the locking bolt being thrown home.

After spending a restless night and countless tears, Sarah awoke the next morning feeling sick and sore. Her face was throbbing from the slap she'd received and it was all she could manage to get out of bed without the acid in her stomached making an unseeingly appetence.

She walked across the floor in her bare feet and tried the door she'd seen Jareth walk out of twice. It was the locked tight.

Sighing, Sarah moved to the next door and genteelly pushed it open. The sight that meet her eyes was one of beauty.

The bathroom Sarah found herself in was complete with a claw-toed bath tub and held a beautiful brass wash stand, with glass pitcher and basin. Lifting the pitcher, Sarah found it was already filled with water. Pouring the basin full, she reached in and found the clear water icy cold. Splashing some water on her face, Sarah reached to the shelf on the wash stand and pulled down a soft, cuddly towel. Wiping her face off, Sarah then set about some more personal washing. She didn't know how long Jareth would be gone, so she made the chore a quick as possible.

Sarah walked out of the small, but lovely bathroom and set about finding something beside her current night gown to wear.

Open the armoire, Sarah stared in the emptiness. No hope there, she thought, closing the doors.

Turning, she the scanned the room, looking for the jeans and shirt she'd been wearing before being attacked.

Instead, laid out on the now made bed, was a knee-length skirt, button down white shirt, a pair of black knee-high boots, and a light pink bra and panty set. Blushing to herself, Sarah looked them over and found with a start that everything was her size.

Glancing around the room, Sarah hastily pulled the night dress over her head and slipped into her new clothes. Everything fit perfectly, even the boots. Sarah sighed, wondering why Jareth would brother giving her new clothes, when he couldn't seem to stand being in the same room as her.

It seems that all Sarah could ever find was questions.

Never answers.

Jareth stared out the high window of his great hall. He was trying very hard at keeping himself from conjuring a crystal and seeing what Sarah was doing. He'd locked her door last night, so he knew that she was still in her room. He just couldn't get the picture of her tear stained face from his mind. She'd been crying for the Labyrinth; he knew that she had. But he would continue to let her lie to him and herself. Until he managed to tell her why she was here, at least. Then he would have to explain everything to her; which was something the Goblin King did not like doing - telling others why he did something. He was king; he didn't explain, he did.

Still though, part of him wanted to tell Sarah everything. Tell her how long he'd been waiting for her to call him. How many different ways he had imagined her reaching out for him.

Never had he thought or dreamed about her calling for him, the man she hated, when she was in danger, when she really needed help.

Sarah was sitting on the window seal, staring out at the ruin that was the once beautiful and compelling labyrinth. The sight of the crumbling walls still managed to bring tears from her eyes, but she was able to force them back. The only betrayal of there existence was the too bright shine in her brown eyes.

Her back was against the stone wall, her knees drawn up to her chest. Her tiny arms were wrapped around her legs, pinning the skirt in place. Her dainty, dimpled chin was resting on her knees.

That how Jareth found you. He didn't make a noise as he entered the room and came up behind her. He just stood behind her, arms crossed over his chest, watching Sarah, wondering what was going on inside her head.

Sarah didn't look over at him; she didn't even seem to move when she said, "You must really hate me. For what I've done."

Jareth said nothing, although it pulled at a small place inside him to hear her talk like that.

"After everything I've done... Or rather, un-done. I've killed your home with a few careless words. I've destroyed everything that you've known, and loved." Sarah turned then, giving Jareth a look that felt like it went all the way down to his soul.

"Sarah,..." Jareth didn't know exactly what he was going to say. He dropped his arms and stared deeply into her eyes. Finally, he held out his hand. "Walk with me. I want to show you something."

Sarah broke eye contact, instead turning her eyes to the hand he had held out. After what seemed like forever, she lightly laid her soft hand in his rougher, larger one and brought her eyes back to his.

Jareth closed his hand over hers and pulled her from the her window sit, drawing her up toward him. He didn't pull her right up against him, but just close enough for her to feel his body heat. He heard her draw in a sharp breath and tightened his hand around hers, thinking that she might blot at any moment.

"You can't back out now, Sarah," he murmured softly, his breath lightly stirring the hair at her temple. "You're in too deep now."

With those last words, Jareth used his magic and flashed him and Sarah both from her bed room.


	2. Chapter 2

Sarah opened her eyes and found herself in the mist of a garden. Atleast, she was pretty sure that it used to be a garden. Now, though, there was nothing but death around her.

Hedges that used to make wide, swiping mazes were now nothing more then ugly, limp brown sherbs, hanging listlessly and barely stirring in the wind. Giant stone vases that used to hold the most colorful flowers Sarah had ever seen, now housed monds of dirt with limp brown steams that hung over the sides.

"Do you remember this place?" Jareth's voice was soft, but it echoed throughout the small courtyard.

"Ludo... We found Ludo here." Sarah was staring at the stop where Jareth's goblins had stung Ludo up, upside down, while they tortured him. Now, the only reminder of that long ago day was the pile of rotting rope that had been left behind.

Jareth was watching her as she wondered around, touching things, discovering every change from the world she'd known, to what was left today. He noticed that her eyes were over bright, the hint of tears that she tried to hide by letting her hair curtain her face from him. Jareth knew though that now was not the time to ridicule her for her tears.

Sarah's boot heels made light clicks upon the stones as she wondered around the courtyard. Part of her wanted to ask Jareth why he'd brought her here; the other half didn't want to say or do anything that might break the fragile understand that had formed between them. Reaching out, she let the tip of her finger lightly graze the wooden doors that lead away from the small garden. One, she knew, would take her to the Firies' Forest. The other she had no clue where it would lead. Rising her eyes, Sarah was shocked that the knockers that had agured so feveredly nine years ago were missing. In their place were two small, chared holes, as if the knockers had been burned away while the door was left standing - a dull reminder of their exestince.

"Where are they?" her question was asked in such a gentle voice, almost as if she feared the answer.

Jareth didn't have to ask her who; he knew that she wondered about the knockers. Part of him wanted to lie, say that they were simply moved to different doors. Another part, the darker part of himself, wanted to answer her in the coldest, hardest assesment he could think of.

Instead though, Jareth found himself turning away from her; unwilling to see her face when the truth came out. "Gone."

Just that one word was enough to set Sarah on edge. "Gone? Gone where?" She found that she had to force the question out; it had sat like lead upon her tounge.

"Gone away." This awful answer was all that Jareth was willing to give at the moment, and as he turned back toward Sarah he saw light go out of her eyes, saw she drawing into herself. Jareth turned away again, knowing that she was trying to distance herself from him, remove herself from the pain he was trying to inflict.

"I don't understand. I don't understand any of this." Sarah's voice sounded faint and slightly far off. Jareth turned back and saw that she was facing away from him, her delicate hands raised toward her mouth and cupping her chin in a gesture of bewilderment. She turned back to him, dropping her hands from her face and wrapping her arms around her waist, holding tight to herself. "Why am I here?"

Jareth knew that the moment was upon him, that it was time for him to inform her of the part she would play in his world. But still, he found that he wasn't ready, wheather it was time or not. "Because your needed ... here." That didn't come out quite how Jareth had wanted it to, but the words hung between them now.

Sarah's arms dropped from her waist and hung limply at her sides. Her pretty little face was the picture of bewilderment. If the situation hadn't been so grave, Jareth many have found it in him to laugh.

"Needed ... how?" Sarah said this slowly, as if she herself didn't quite believe what was coming out of her mouth.

Jareth laughed low in his throat and turned to stare out at the garden before him.

Before she realized what he was about, Jareth was by her side and wrapping his hand around her wrist. Sarah let out a strangled gasp and tried to pull away from him. He looked down at her and asked coldly, "Whats wrong, Sarah, lost your taste for answers?"

And with that, Jareth and Sarah disappeared from sight.


	3. Chapter 3

When Sarah could next see, her and Jareth were in another garden. This one she didn't remember, but could tell by the sight of all the hanging dead flowers that it must have been wonderful.

Jareth was still holding her tight, as if afraid she might blot at any moment. Sarah thought that she might too, if the glow in Jareth's mismatched eyes grew anymore intense.

Finally, he released her and turned away, plowing his hand through his blond hair. From another man, Sarah would have seen that as nervous gesture, but from Jareth she only saw it as frustration -- from what she didn't know.

Sarah turned away from him, rubbing her arms againist the sudden chill in the air. It was like someone had removed all the life and energy from the beautiful labyrinth that she remembered, leaving only a dead and decaying tomb in its place.

Something that Jareth had said early at the castle sudden came back to Sarah and made her suck in a quick breath as an awful thought hit her.

"I did this, didn't I?" She heard Jareth turn quickly, but refused to face him. "When I stopped believing, I did this." The last wasn't a question.

Jareth was staring hard at the back of Sarah's head; his mismatched eyes sharp with determination. Sarah refused to faced him - part of him understood that, but another part of him just wanted her to turn and faced him and the truth.

Sarah felt his glaze boring into her, but she couldn't bring it up herself to turn and face him. "Please answer me."

Jareth was silent for so long that finally Sarah turned, just to make sure that he was still there. He was. And he was staring deep into her eyes, trying to see into her very soul.

She couldn't look away, couldn't move, not even when he started towards her and his hand reached up and touched her bruised cheek. "And then what, Sarah? If you did do this, what happens then?" His voice was pitched so low that even thought she was close enough to him to feel his heat, feel _him_, she had to lean in closer just to understand him.

"I don't know. I don't think that I could ever look at myself in the mirror if I had done this. I don't know ... I don't know if I could live with myself, knowing that I had something to do with this." She answered with all the honestly inside her heart. To know that she had killed something so beautiful, something so viberant; the knowledge would be enough to drive her insane with guilt.

Jareth knew that his next words had the power to kill Sarah's sweet spirit; that was why it was so hard to say them. "Sarah," he started, only to stop, drop his hand as if burned, and turn away once more.

Finally, when the silence had gone on long enough that Jareth thought that he would go mad, he turned back and found Sarah with her head downcast, as if in defeat. Tears were leaking from her closed eye lids. Everything about her was the picture of pain - as if she had lost her loved ones all at once and found herself alone in the world.

Not knowing any other way, Jareth felt the words leaving his lips harshly. "Yes, Sarah, _you_ did this."

Her head jerked up for one awful moment, then she turned and ran, following a worn dirt path that lead from the private inclosure and out into the heart of the labyrinth. Jareth watched her go, knowing that there was a time and place for his explaination and that right now Sarah needed time to deal with everything. He won't worried about her getting hurt in the labyrinth - when he'd said that everyone was gone, he was telling the truth. Nothing could hurt her in his once great labyrinth.

Jareth stayed in the garden, a place that had once been his favorite place to come and "hide" from his duties for a while. He looked out at the scattered stone benches that looked as if they'd just been hazardly placed all over. Jareth remembered when you could sit on one bench and the flowers that bloomed had been so thick that you couldn't even tell that there were seven other stone benches throughout the garden.

He made his way over to one of the benches, feeling the need to be close to the world that he had once known. It was all gone now. Nothing remained of his kingdom. Soon, if he didn't stop it, not even he would remain.

Sarah didn't know all of the sad truth yet. Soon, though, she would have to know.

Because the labyrinth was no longer Jareth's to control and rule.

And Sarah was going to have to come to grips with who and what she was very soon.

Or all would be lost...


	4. Chapter 4

Sarah fell to her knees beside a stone wall that reached over six feet. Tears fell unheeded down her face. Leaning on the wall for support, she cried harder and harder, unable to steam the flow of her pain and misery.

Everything was gone. Because of her.

She didn't know if she could deal with that harsh knowledge.

As her tears ran out, Sarah remained leaning against the wall. Looking behind her, she saw a site she thought never to see again - the never ending cooridor that streched as far as the eye could see behind and infront of her. She must have stepped through one of the "hidden" break offs on her mad dash through the Labyrinth.

A finger of fear laced up her spine as she realized that, although she had escaped last time, she had no clue where she was, or even where "here" was. And this time there was no Hoggle to help her.

While Sarah wondered where she was, Jareth had made it back to the castle and was currently perched on the wide window sit of his throneroom window. Every window in the castle had a wide bench-like sit; in the Old days, the sit was used by archers to defend the castle from invaders. But there hadn't been an invation since before Jareth's time.

Mismatched blue and green eyes stared out, much as Sarah's had earlier, upon the dismal sight the crumbling walls now made. Nothing was as if should be. And perhaps never would be again.

Change was upon the air, Jareth could almost smell it. The Old Ones would say that his time was winding down, but Jareth refused to believe it. For to give in was against everything he knew.

As the sun sank lower and lower upon the horizon, Jareth just barely restraned himself from pulling a crystal out and finding Sarah. He knew that she had the power to find her way back, but he knew also that she had no idea the power she held in the plam of her hands.

As he finally broke down and was pulling a crystal out of the air, the doors to his throneroom were thrown open and Sarah stepped in. She carried herself bravly, but Jareth could see the fear she'd tried to hide.

"How did I get back here?" she asked, her voice shaking with all the turmoral inside her. "How did I find my way back here, when I didn't even know where I was?"

Jareth quickly looked her up and down, making sure that she truly was alright before he pulled his glaze away and ansered, very clamly, "What were you doing?"

A silence streached between them for so long that Jareth though she wouldn't answer. Finally, she walked away from the door and right up to him. Since he was still sitted, her eyes were level with his own.

"I don't know. I closed my eyes and just wished that I was back home. Then I opened my eyes and I was standing outside those doors. But this_ isn't_ home! I wanted to go to _my_ home. Not here, _anywhere_ but here!" Her voice had been steadly raising until the last was said at a shout as she waved her hands wildly about the room.

"Well, thats too bad." Jareth stated, not breaking eye contact. The Labyrinth is now your home - the only home you have left."

"This place will _never_ be home."

Jareth stood, once more towering over her. Softly, oh so softly, he said, "This is your home now, Sarah. _Yours_."

She continued to stare up at him, confussion beginning to cloued her eyes.

"Yours to command. Yours to destroy. Yours to let live. Yours to do with as you will."

She turned away from him again, closed her eyes...

And was gone.

Jaeth found Sarah hours later, after he'd finally looked into one of his crystals, and found her collapsed on the ground in the dead bench garden. Her frail arms were wrapped around her up drawn knees, and her face was hidden as she shook from the shock of what she'd just learned.

"Your wrong." So softly did she speak, he thought that maybe he'd only imagined it. Atleast, until she jerked up onto her knees and yelled at him. "Your wrong!"

"Am I?"Jareth crouched before her, reaching out and pulling one of her hands toward him. Both of them looked down at their joined hands. His, in his leather glove, covering her smaller one compeletly. He turned their hands together, plam up, so that hers lay atop his. With his other hand, Jareth reached down, scooped up a handful of dirt and placed it in Sarah's open plam.

Sarah looked up with a question in her eyes.

Jareth removed his hand, leaving Sarah with a fistful of earth and a question on her lips. "What--?"

"Think of a flower," he started slowly, his mismatched eyes powerful and all knowing. "Any flower that you like. Picture it in your mind. Then close your eyes, and see yourself holding that flower. Don't open your eyes."

Sarah watched him for a minute, then looked down at the dry earth she held. Closing her eyes, she pictured a small, fragile red rose bud. It was just a small flower, it couldn't be cut from the steam just yet. But it was a beautiful flower none the less.

She felt the earth move it her hands, as if the wind was stirring it as she held it. Wondering about it, she opened her eyes.

The sight that meet her eyes was something that she couldn't explain with all the scientific logic she'd had drilled into her head for years.

Where once dry brown dirt had laid, now was damp, dark earth. With a tiny red rose bud growing from the center. As she watched, the rose started to bloom, the petals parting to expose the brillent red hidden from eyes till now.

Starterled, she dropped the dark soil and the flower and leaped to her feet, looking down as the earth return to its dry brown state and the rose withered to nothing.

Backing away, Sarah jerked her eyes up and meet Jareth's all to understanding eyes. Rich blue and shattering green, he looked at her with an arrogants that was beyond anything she'd ever seen in his eyes.

"You see, Sarah," his voice was veletly soft as he addressed her. "Your the one with the power. The Labyrinth is in your hands now."

With those words, Jareth turned and dissappered from sight, leaving Sarah more unsure of herself than she'd ever been in her life.


	5. Chapter 5

Two days pasted with total silence between Sarah and Jareth. In fact, Sarah spent her days walking through the abandoned Goblin City and her nights in Jareth's bedroom. She didn't know where he spent his nights - she couldn't bring herself to ask. Part of her felt guilty for keeping his bed to herself.

Another, deeper part of herself loved laying in his bed, feeling the satin sheets glide across her body and inhaling his rich, earthy scent.

Shaking herself from those thoughts, Sarah stopped infront of one of the "forgotten" homes, looking around and trying to find something - some_one_ - within the dismal huts that could help her prove Jareth wrong. But, like every home she'd stopped at, there was nothing, no one, and she didn't know what twisted her stomach more - that the homes were empty or that they looked as if they had just been left without a backwards glance.

At the very edge of the city, tucked away from the other huts, was a small cabin. Where the other houses had looked ugly and uninhatbitable, this tiny dwelling looked downright qunit. Sarah hadn't yet ventered inside, but today, after nothing from silence from Jareth, she decided that she was going to see what lay inside the cabin.

Walking along the dirt path that led to the front door, Sarah found that unlike the other huts, she didn't have to duck to pass through the doorway. At five foot, three inches, Sarah could walk right through most doors without fear of banging her head.

Pushing the door open, Sarah looked around the small kitchen. Unlike the other huts, this one didn't have dirty dishes scattered about it. It really didn't have much in it, actually. There was a small table, with two chairs, a stand alone sink, and a small ice box. Opening the door, she found it empty. Odd, she thought, has anyone ever lived here?

It seemed strange, to find an abandoned house, that no one had ever even lived in.

Sarah turned, walked out, and closed the door softly behind her. Then she headed back to the castle. It was time to talk to Jareth; it was time to understand exactly what was going on - with her and the Labyrinth.

And find out what she could do to help...


	6. Chapter 6

Sarah found Jareth later that day, sitting at a dinning room table, eating a lonely meal. At the long table that could easily set thirty, Jareth was at the head, with his being the only place setting out. Sarah realized that why her meals always appeared at her door, Jareth must have been down here, alone. She thought for a second about the reasons why he'd not asked her to eat down here with him. But, of course, she knew the answer; if Jareth had asked her to dine with him, she would have said no.

Pushing that thought to the farthiest reaches of her mind, she instead sat to Jareth's right. He turned and looked at her, some unreadable expersion that was gone before she could even wonder about it.

"To what do I owe the honor of your presence, my lady?" the last was said with a taint of sarcasm as he raised one blonde eyebrow.

"Why me?" her question was asked softly, as if the words had just slipped out without thought.

"Why not you?"

Sarah looked up from tracing patterned on the surface of the table. Jareth looked the same as always; his feathery blond hair, his mismatched eyes, his slightly tanned skin. But, looking at him closely, Sarah noticed things that she'd not before. His face looked older, as if the last nine years had not been easy ones. Also, where before Jareth had always been dressed in clothing that looked as if it belonged in a movie about the English kings from the 17th century, now he was dressed simply; black boots, black slacks, and a deep green sweater that hugged board shoulders and lightly muscled arms. The new clothing was odd, but appealing on him.

Sarah herself was dressed in another skirt, dull red this time, that just barely brushed her knees. A white button up and a pair of white silk slippers completed her outfit. She knew that Jareth was picking out her clothing and laying it out for her, but the clothes fit so nice and were too pretty for her to rufuse.

A sudden thought struck her. "Why are you still here? How come everyone else is gone, but your still here?"

Something flashed across his face, surprise and ... something else. Sarrow, maybe?

Jareth stared at her for a long time before answering. "Who do you think owns the Labyrinth, Sarah? Who do you think rules it?"

Sarah's answer was automatic and without much thought. "You."

A sad smile touched his lips. Standing, Jareth walked away from the table and leaned one shoulder casually against the far wall. Sarah turned in her chair, watching him silently.

"The Labyrinth ... owns itself. It rules itself." Jareth said this slowly, has if it was very hard to force out. "No one person can control the Labyrinth. Do you understand, Sarah?"

She remained mute, shaking her head while watching him with her questioning brown eyes.

"Its pretty simple, really. No one claims ownership of the Laybrinth. There is no one who can claim that they created it or know it. Its free."

"Then... Why...?" Sarah wasn't sure what she was asking or how to ask it.

Jareth knew. She could tell by the look in his eyes that he knew; both the question and the answer.

"I am the Keeper. I make sure that the Labyrinth and all who live within its walls, are taken care of. Atleast, thats what I used to do."

"Used to do?" She had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach; like a dull, heavy weight that threatened to pull her down.

"Yes, used to." Jareth said it softly, as if he himself couldn't believe it. "Until you came along, that it. Then everything changed."

Sarah stood, pushed her chair in, and walked over to where Jareth stood watching her. "Changed ... how?" 

Up close, Sarah could see how stiff and angery he was over this conversation. "The Labyrinth has its own mind. It knows who its Keeper is and who is worthly of such a title. When the Labyrinth no longer finds its current Keeper ... worthly, it seeks out a new Keeper and finds a way to bring them, to draw them, into its world."

"What if..." Sarah didn't get to finsh.

Jareth stepped right up to her, causing her to back up into the wall behind her. "There is no chioce. If you refuse and turn away from the Labyrinth, not only will this world die, but so will you, Sarah. Because the Labyrinth can't live without you... And you can't live without it."

His words were harsh, as was the expression on his face. He sounded and looked as if he hated her.

Turning her head away, Sarah tried to push him away, to escape from him and what he was saying.

"No, no," he said, grabbing her roughly by her upper arms. "You can't keep running away, Sarah. Its childish and will slove nothing."

She looked up at him, staring into his eyes, her very soul laid bare to him.

And she realizied that she had no defence against this man who held her with hands that hurt and eyes that saw too much.

Jareth stared deeply into Sarah's eyes, noticing the fear and uncertainty, but also something new. Desire. He didn't know what shocked him most - the fear or desire. He knew that he hadn't done anything to put her fear of him at ease, but he'd never really believe that she was afraid of him. But to know that she desired him almost as much as she feared him - that in itself was startling news.

"Forgive me," he said, dropping his hands from her arms and stepping back from her. He turned, not sure what to do, but unwilling for now to scare her even more.

"Wait," she started, reaching out for him.

"No, Sarah," Jareth ground out, not turning toward her. "Do not call out for me unless your willing to face the consequences. And how I feel right now, your eyes would only grow more fearful. And I don't think that I could stand that."

"I'm not afraid of you." Sarah was staring at Jareth's board back, wondering at the tension that coiled every muscle. "I'm afriad of me - and how I feel about you."

Jareth felt his breath catch in his thoat. Turning, he glazed down into her eyes. "And how do you feel?" he asked, not daring to hope, but feeling the faint fluttering of his heart none the less.

Sarah searched his eyes, looking for something, some hint of emotions. But his mismatched eyes were as closed off as ever, revieling nothing. Unwilling to express herself and put her heart on display while remaining unsure of him, she looked away. "I'm not sure. I don't hate you, but I don't like you either."

A hollow laugh escaped his lips. Then he reached out for her, yanking her full-length against him. It was the first time that she'd ever been this close to a man before - close enough to feel every breath they took, close enough to feel every contour and plain of their body.

And close enough to feel the hard effect of his desire.

A blush stained her cheeks while she tried to put space between them. But Jareth seemed unwilling to allow anything between them. He pulled her even closer, leaning down until only a breath sperated their lips. "Are you afraid now, Sarah?"

"No."

That one word went through him, shaking him to the core.

Without thinking of the consequences, he lowered his lips to hers, stroking her soft, pink lips with his own full ones, pushing them apart so that he could thust his tounge inside her warm mouth. He felt her shock - felt it in the way that she tensed and tried to pull away. He mearly tightened his hands around her upper arms where he had grabbed her. Thinking only of getting closer to her, Jareth materialized them both onto his king sized bed.

Sarah jerked, realizing that she was now pinned under Jareth on a soft bed. Everything came back to her in a rush - Jareth's angry words, her own uncertainties. This was wrong. What was she doing?

Pulling her mouth away, she pushed out a whispered "Stop."

Jareth didn't seem to hear her; his lips were trailing down her thoat while his hands, after releasing her arms, were pushing up her shirt, wanting only to feel warm skin.

"No," she managed again, "s-stop. Please. Jareth."

His name. It was the first time since her return to him that she'd said his name. It worked better than a slap - just his name stopped him cold.

He jerked up, bracing himself on his hands while he looked into her eyes. A sad smile touched his lips.

Sarah reached up, wanting to caress his face. But before her hand could make contact, he was gone. Leaving her alone on his bed, wrapped in uncertainties and lingering desire.


	7. Chapter 7

Jareth stared looking down at Sarah. She was sleeping in his bed, the same bed that they had laid on together hours before. Now, she was curled onto her right side, facing the open window that over looked the Labyrinth. She looked small and defenceless, but Jareth knew that she had a steel core.

Sleep had relaxed her face into an expression of innocence that Jareth had never seen in her waking moments. She seemed so small and fragile, laying on his over-large bed, her mousy brown hair fanning out on his pillow. Her right hand was curled under her cheek, like a child would slept. The other hand rested on her left thigh, riding high enough to tempt a man.

Jareth knew that he shouldn't be here, that if Sarah was awake, she would refuse to even remain in the same room with him.

Still though, he found he couldn't force himself to leave. Instead, he found himself gentely lifting the covers and slipping under them. He moved painfully slow, not wanting Sarah to awaken. He carefully wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her backside flush against his front. He felt her shifting, getting comfortable again before she continued dreaming with a soft sigh.

As Jareth lay there, feeling all of her lush curves, he vowed that Sarah would feel for him again. That she would love him again.

As much as he still loved her.

Sarah was trapped in a nightmare. She was trapped in a long, narrow hallway. It was dark and damp, like a basement. An oder of disuse hung in the air.

She was dressed in a full white skirt, which hung to just below her knees. Her top as a blood red long sleeve blouse, which flowed over her arms and hung tight to her curves.

She was barefoot, running down the cold stone hallway. Glancing back over her shoulder, never knowing what she was running from, just knowing that she had to find somewhere to hide.

She could feel her breath trapping in her chest, stopping her from drawing in air.

"Sarah."

Her name was whispered, draw out and echoing through the dark corridor. Sarah let out a sob, trying to find somewhere, anywhere, that she could hide.

Hot breath fall on the back of her neck. Terror froze the blood in her veins.

She had to escape, she had to.

The Labyrinth depended on it.

Sarah jerked awake, sitting up and holding her chest, her eyes moving around the bright sunlit room.

Someone was watching her - she could feel it. Could feel the hate rolling off in waves, all of it crashing into her. Holding her down. Pushing the breath out of her.

With a small cry, Sarah rolled off the bed, landing on the floor with a load thump. Her lungs were freed, the staggering wave of hate was gone. Shaking with relief and terror, Sarah pulled her knees up to her chest, hugging them close and rocking herself back and forth while tears silently rolled down her checks.

She had to find Jareth and tell him. She needed to know everything that was going on.

And she needed to know now.


	8. Chapter 8

Jareth paced restlessly. Every once in a while, his mismatched eyes would find their way to the large window overlooking the ruin city, searching for Sarah. She had came to him early that morning, asking for time to herself to think, but that she would return at noon to finally receive all the answers that she sought.

The sun had reached its peak, and still no Sarah. Jareth wasn't used to waiting, and it was very obvious from the heavy pounding of his boot heels on the hard stone floor that his patience was rapidly reaching the end of its rope.

Just as he raised his hands to call forth a crystal, the heavy oak doors swung open and Sarah walked in. The doors closed again behind her, sealing them off from the devastation that was he's once great city.

"Ok," Sarah began, her voice strong and level as she took a seat at the head of the dining table. "I want to know everything that has happened since I left, and I want to know why the Labyrinth suddenly decided that it doesn't want you for a Keeper anymore."

Jareth stared at her, wondering where the fragile girl he had brought had gone and who this take-charge woman in her place was. Walking slowly to the table to sit with her, he couldn't help but notice how the green blouse he had chosen for her this morning creased her like a second skin, and how the khaki skirt she worn skimmed across her knees like his fingers longed to. Sliding into the seat to her right, Jareth longed to reach across the table and pull her into his lap, but knew that she would only push him away again.

"Jareth?"

Shock made him jerk his head up. His eyes collided with hers.

"Please tell me." Her voice was soft and slightly pleading.

Jareth found he was unable to deny her.

"After you… left, the Labyrinth became unhappy." Jareth's words were slow, as the pain of what he was sharing once again sliced through him. "It took a while, before I realized what was happening." The truth, Jareth knew, was that he was too caught up in his own pain to notice that he wasn't the only one suffering. "It was little things at first, like flowers dying in spring and the crops not being as rich as they should have been. Then, one day, everyone was gone."

Sarah, who had managed to hold his eyes for his whole speech, finally dropped her eyes and stared instead her hands, which were clasped into tight fists on the table top. "Gone? But, where?" Her question was faint, as if she couldn't imagine such a thing.

"I don't know. I went into the city, trying to find someone, _anyone_, but they were all gone. It was as if they just stood up and walked away without looking back. I spent days, searching and wondering, trying to find some sign that I wasn't alone. When I returned to the castle, the Labyrinth's walls became to fail. Never before had the walls fallen, not once in the thousands of years I have been here. The sight of this once great maze crumbling into nothing, it was more than I could take." Jareth looked away from Sarah, feeling the familiar angry at her carelessly spoken words rise to the surface once more.

"So when did you know that you were no longer the Keeper?" Her inquiry was gentle, as if she somehow knew the pain that realization still brought him.

"I left the Labyrinth, to seek out an Elder who could tell me what was happening. When he informed me that I was no longer the rightful Guardian on the Labyrinth, I didn't believe him… Until I tried to return."

Her head jerked up at the anger in his voice. "Tried to return? You mean—"

"That's right, dear Sarah," the sarcasm worked its way into his voice without his control. "Since I was no longer the one the Labyrinth had chosen, I could no longer return without the official Keeper."

"How long ago was that?" Her question held a hard edge, as if she really didn't want to know.

Sarah jerked back as Jareth suddenly stood, pulling his chair back violently and walking briskly to the window. He turned his back to her and did not answer.

But Sarah found that she needed to know. Standing as well, Sarah made her way over to him. She reached her hand out, as if to touch his shoulder and lead a comforting hand, but fell away just short of physical contact.

"Jareth? How long?"

Jareth turned his head just enough so that their eyes could meet. "Long enough to watch you grow into the woman you are now."

Shock colored her face as she took a slight step back. "9 years? You've been away for 9 years?"

Turning, Jareth stared down at Sarah, torn between love and hate. He wondered which emotion would outlast and defeat the other.

An evil smirk twisted his lips. "Yes, Sarah," her name was more of a hiss, then actually words. "For nine years I have watched you grow, live, _laugh_, and enjoy life, while I have been trapped in _your_ world."

"Tr-trapped?" Sarah couldn't help the stutter, any more than she could help the two pick backwards steps she took in retreat to the menacing tone of Jareth's words.

Jareth watched her backing away from him with equal parts of sorrow and triumph. "Yes, dear, sweet Sarah. Trapped, in my owl form, for 9 _long_ years, waiting for you to call for me so that I could return to the only home I have ever known."


	9. Chapter 9

"Oh Jareth…"

Sarah's faintly whispered sigh filled the air.

Staring into Jareth's blazing eyes, Sarah felt her heart break at the pain she must have caused this once great king. He must have suffered unbearably, unable to return to his land and home. To think that this had all been caused by a few carelessly spoken words falling from her naïve lips. But what choice had she had?

Reaching her tiny hand up, she gently cradled the king's cheek, stocking softly.

Jareth's eyes closed for a single instant, in which time stood still and he was allowed to enjoy her touch. Then, his eyes snapped open as he roughly pushed Sarah's hand from his face.

"I don't want, or_ need_, your pity." The words came out more a growl then a sentence, but it was enough for the soft light in her eyes to die a sudden death.

"I didn't mean—"

"Yes, I've heard that from you before. You didn't mean to kill the Labyrinth. You didn't mean to make everyone go anyway. You didn't mean to banish me from my home." With each sentence, the anger and fury grew and grew, until it was an uncontrollable monster that was working its way from his throat and into the air around them, choking Sarah with its mere presence.

"No, Jareth—" Sarah breath caught as he suddenly grabbed her by the upper arms, spinning and pressing her none-too-gently into stone wall. As he leaned in, his face was such a mask of hate and revulsion, Sarah closed her eyes and wished she was anywhere but here.

Jareth leaned in, only to fall against the wall as Sarah disappeared from sight.

Shock colored his face as his hands came up empty. "Sarah?" His call was filled with curiosity, and hint of uncertainty. Turning to scan the room behind him, Jareth felt panic swell in his chest as he was unable to find her.

Drawing a gazing crystal from the air, Jareth looked into the swirling mists and tried to locate Sarah. Shock washed over his face as he spied her, collapsed and crying in the middle of his garden; the garden that he had made just for her, the day she had arrived in the Labyrinth all those long years ago. The garden that she had never seen, when at its full glory.

Sarah wiped the last of her eyes from her face. Looking around her, she noticed that she was in the garden that Jareth had taken her to a few days before. It was still dead and dreary looking; proof of everything that Jareth had told her.

Sitting in the garden, gazing at the lifelessness around her, something inside her simply said "enough". Rising from the bench, Sarah walked toward one of the many stone planters and knelled beside it. Staring at that lifeless twigs that hung limply over the side, Sarah try to imagine what sort of flower had once grown here. Unable to figure it out, she simply placed her cold and trembling hand atop the dead plant. Closing her eyes, Sarah took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.

As she did, her hand grew warmer and warmer, almost white-hot. But there was no pain, only warmth. She could feel it, flowing from her chest, down her arm, through her fingers and into the dry, cracked earth.

Pulling her hand away slowly, Sarah opened her eyes to see the once lifeless planter filled with beautiful white and pink roses, which rose gracefully from the planter, higher than any roses that she had ever seen before.

Standing, Sarah looked on with amazement as the roses continued to grow, blooming to expending to almost a foot wide. A smile traced across her lips, watching the life flow through the plant and restore it to a thing of splendor once more.

Turning, Sarah walked to the center of the garden. Dropping to the ground, she placed both her hands flat on the ground and closed her eyes once more, letting the magic flow from her and into the wonder around her.

When next she opened them, the garden was complete with flowing ivy vines that hung from wall to wall, creating a canopy that shielded this delightful place from the world around it. Roses of every color imaginable filled the air with their sweet scent. Soft grass covered the ground, tickling her palm where it rested on the now-warm ground.

Standing, Sarah turned to take in all the wonder around her.

The smile that had been forming on her sweet lips froze in place at the sight of the Goblin King, who was leaning against the far wall watching her with the faintest of smiles upon his own lips.

Straightening away from the wall, Jareth walked to where Sarah stood frozen in place. "How did you know what this garden looked like?" His question was so soft, so gentle, that for a moment, Sarah couldn't answer. Never had he used such a tender tone with her.

Looking away to gather her thoughts, Sarah glazed around her, taking in the beauty and magnificence. "I didn't," she finally answered, turning back to Jareth, who had stepped closer still, his body heat rolling off him and pulsing soothingly against her. "I-I just closed my eyes and imagined what I would like it to look like."

Something about her answer brought a flash of delight to his eyes, but it was gone too quickly for her to question it. "Well," he answered, "it is lovely." But he wasn't looking at the garden, but at Sarah.

Sarah turned away, not such why.

"Sarah," her name was softly spoken, like a pray. She turned back, but couldn't bring herself to look at him again. "Sarah, would you like to join me for dinner?"

The question startled her so much, her eyes jerked up and slammed into his. There was nothing but kindness in his mismatched eyes, but Sarah remembered all too well how fast her could go from tender to hate-filled.

"I don't think that's such a good idea…" her reply trailed off as Jareth reached out one gloved hand and tucked her lose hair behind her eyes.

Sadness colored his words. "I understand why you would think that, but I promise not to lose myself again. I am sorry, Sarah."

Looking up at him, with the tenderness and the compassion of his eyes boring down on her, Sarah couldn't find it within herself to deny him. "Ok."

Resting his hand lightly on her shoulder, Jareth flashed them both from the garden.

Neither noticed the dark shadow lingering angrily on the outskirts of the now resorted garden…


End file.
